At the same time that Mito Uzumaki was 'reborn' and forced into action three others found themselves in confusing positions.
~Kushina Uzumaki POV~
'I wonder why Soutarou didn't come to class today. He didn't even tell sensei he wouldn't be there… Maybe I should go check on him?'
Kushina reminisced back to a year ago when she had first come to Konoha and the boys bullied her and girls looked at her with scorn. Only two people looked at her as if she was human… and of those two only one person stood up for her. Soutarou. He was a truly kind person.
~Kushina's Memory, from third person~
The large lecture room with a black-green chalkboard and layered seating and the 50 or so heads all looking at one person. Short in height with long bright red hair and dark violet eyes, one could tell that in a few years Kushina would be an unparalleled beauty, but as always with beauty there was jealousy amongst the girls and the boys? They simply didn't know how to express themselves. All added to Kushina's nervousness, from her perspective they were glaring at her, the outsider. She mustered up all her courage and spoke with jittering confidence, "I-I'm Kushina Uzumaki from the Land of Whirlpools and I'll be the first female hokage! Dattebane (You know)!" She puffed her chest outwards and held her chin high only to be met with resounding laughter, disdain, and ridicule about both her hair color and dream. In that wave of negativeness there was one nervous look and one that pitied her. As if drawn in by need for something, Kushina's eyes landed on the one who pitied her as if her eyes trembled almost as if asking for acceptance. Then it happened a somewhat tall boy, with gleaming golden eyes and short messy black hair stood up and said, "Hey! Don't laugh at her hair color or her dream! Her red hair is obviously from the Uzumaki Clan just like Lady Mito, the wife of the first hokage! So are you laughing at her too?! Have some decency or have you not learned well enough about the will of fire!"
In that moment Kushina's eyes seemed to shine and a small smile found her way onto her face…
~Back to Kushina Current POV~
'It's decided then I'll go check up on Soutarou!'
Just as she was about to move towards Soutarou's house she heard a ding sound blare somewhere in her mind.
[Ding! The Kunoichi Improvement System has bound itself to host.]
…
~Mikoto Uchiha POV~
Mikoto was currently hiding in a bush trying to avoid a certain man, who her father wanted her to get engaged with. That was the Uchiha Clan's current head's son, Fugaku Uchiha. As she slowly dipped out of the Uchiha District and into another area in the central District of Konoha she wondered about one person…
'Sigh… Why can't Fugaku be like Soutarou? Cute, well behaved and a bit funny. Fugaku's just too… nevermind no point in thinking about a guy like that… should I go bother Soutarou? Hmm… Maybe~ It's so cute when he gets flustered and says "I'm training right now!" '
Mikoto reminisced about their first meeting as she worked her way towards Soutarou's house under disguise using the transformation jutsu.
~Mikoto's Memory, from third person~
Mikoto had just turned six and was about to be enrolled in the Konoha Ninja Academy. For the last few days she'd been on an incredible emotional downfall… her grandfather, the first elder of the Uchiha Clan, had just told her she was going to be engaged to the Clan Leader's son. For Mikoto who had just turned six not even having a choice was enraging and in a fit of anger not only had her sharingan awakened to one tomoe, flabbergasting her grandfather and father, but she ran away from home. Both her grandfather and father had decided to use this time to allow Mikoto to wander in hopes her sharingan might further evolve from anger so they followed her from a distance without letting her know. What neither of them would suspect was Mikoto in her anger had stumbled upon Soutarou's secret training spot. Because as Soutarou was always taught, hide right under your enemy's (Danzo) nose… and so he chose right near the Uchiha clan grounds. Just as he was about to start working out he saw Mikoto break through the tree line and crash right into him. He fell straight back onto a tree and Mikoto just elegantly fell into his lap. Once the pain faded both just stared at each for a solid minute wondering what happened. Of course Soutarou gained his bearings first and quickly offered his hand with a slight bow while saying, "Sorry about that I should've paid attention to where I was going. It's nice to meet you though, I'm Soutarou."
Mikoto was temporarily blinded by his figure that had the blaring sun right behind it making it seem as though he was glowing, combined with his baby fat and chubby cheeks and short stature he was the picturebook definition of 'cute'. She quickly scrambled to her feet and adjusted her clothes before falling right back on top of him. She got up and offered her hand out before saying, "Mikoto Uchiha."
Soutarou just tilted his head in a bit of confusion before smiling at her in the most adorable way and without even thinking Mikoto just grabbed his cheeks and kneaded them with an almost devilish 'aunty' look appearing in her eyes as she muttered away, "you're so cute"
This continued for nearly 10 minutes as Mikoto basically lost herself in a trance, due to the influx of yin Chakra her mental state was in a complete imbalance. Seeing a cute little boy like Soutarou triggered something within her and when she finally realized what had happened. She rather than being embarrassed just shamelessly and teasingly said, "You should pay attention to where you go."
Soutarou's expression, which was already dark, darkened even more and he muttered, "Evil Uchiha indeed…"
To which Mikoto continued teasing him at the same time she felt her shoulders finally relax a bit and her mental state settle and her sharingan lit up for Soutarou to see as she squeezed his little three year old cheeks and said, "If you call me Onee-Chan I'll forgive you."
Both didn't realize that this wasn't the way two people who just met each should act, Soutarou who had just transmigrated thought this was somewhat normal harassment and Mikoto? Well Mikoto was just an Uchiha. So the grandfather and father duo thought that Mikoto's rage and sharingan awakening was from not being able to be with this boy.
Soutarou, who was now frightened by Mikoto's display of sharingan, quickly muttered out, "O-onee-chan…"
Mikoto in her surprise and at look at such a picture of cuteness felt a strange chakra tickle her brain and Soutarou started cursing in his mind with a visible grimace while the two elder uchiha's jaws just hung wide open as they stared at the second tomoe in Mikoto's eye which only reinforced their previous misconception… In the end Mikoto couldn't help but continue to tease and distract Soutarou from his training. In the end she even followed him home. And Soutarou who had something of a conversation with Mikoto (more so bullying) had realized Mikoto had been running away from home… at this time it hadn't gone through his head about what he should do and what he shouldn't do so he saw it was already so late and that Mikoto didn't want to go home and offered her a place to stay which she readily accepted. This elevated his status in Mikoto's heart, after already rising to a special point afterall everyone likes cute things, especially girls even more so superpowered assassins who mature way too fast. Then the final shot hit Mikoto… he didn't have another futon so he told Mikoto to sleep in his while he slept on the couch and when Mikoto offered for them to sleep together he vehemently refused and muttered something about chivalry and manliness. At which point Mikoto's mental state completely stabilized and she looked at Soutarou with a new found light…
~Back to Mikoto Current POV~
Just as Mikoto was heading on her way towards Soutarou's house she heard a ding sound resound in her mind.
[Ding! The Kunoichi Improvement System has bound itself to host.]
…
~Naori Uchiha POV~
'What's this feeling… Is Soutarou in trouble?'
Naori glanced towards his house focusing in her chakra and was bewildered by the spiking chakra she felt and immediately rushed for his house without a second thought…
~Naori's history with Soutarou~
Her best friend, Chiharu Uchiha, had just passed away, forcefully unlocking her mangekyo at the tender age of 16 years old. She was distraught to say the least. Her best friend, Chiharu, was also her brother's girlfriend so at least they had each other… or so she thought. Instead of staying for the funeral ceremony, instead of being her support in the time she needed her brother the most. He chose to go away on a long term mission to kill away his sorrows. Standing there after everyone else had left she just blankly stared at the grave. Soon rain began trickling and she didn't notice nor did she care, she was empty inside. After some time she heard small little footsteps walk towards another grave nearby and place flowers before soon walking towards her. There stood a boy who couldn't be any older than five holding a comically large umbrella covered in a cute yellow raincoat that contoured and outlined his black hair and beautiful golden eyes. She slowly looked at him before looking back down. He spoke softly, "Miss you shouldn't stand out in the rain, you'll catch a cold."
He seemed to know she wouldn't move and instead offered her his umbrella. His hand stayed held out for what seemed an eternity… in fact he held his hand out for so long that it was actually shaking. In the end Naori's head barely rose and her hand slowly reached out and held up the umbrella. What happened next caused Naori to be a bit surprised… he started using the leaf burning exercise (used for Fire Chakra Nature Transformation Training) to warm her up and dry her off. After what seemed like another long while he dried her up and was slightly panting from chakra exhaustion. And then he just stood there and stared at the grave with her, before finally muttering, "I'm sorry for your loss…" and simply offering his hand to her as if offering a crutch. Naori's eyes locked onto his hand with an intensity as if wondering how many ways she could cut it off, but in the end her hand slowly just slid over his. The boy, Soutarou, just stood there with her until the rain finally stopped, hours later. Somehow Naori felt a bit lighter and the boy took the umbrella from her hands and closed it before saying, "I'm Soutarou, I hope you find your peace… if you need anything I'd be glad to help… just know miss it's not good to stay alone or bottle up your emotions at a time like this…I'm sorry if I'm speaking out of turn"
To which Naori thought, 'what a well mannered boy.'
She spoke in a cracked yet somewhat soft tone, an almost broken voice if you will, "Naori Uchiha. Where are your parents, little boy?"
Her dazed eyes glanced over him, before she stopped after hearing his answer, "They're over there."
He pointed with a sad, but mellow look. To which Naori's features softened and she spoke with a little more vigor, "I'm sorry… I didn't know."
He shook his head and smiled at her, "It's ok Naori-nee."
He then offered her his hand again and said, "We should go, you probably haven't eaten and I know I'm hungry. We can come back afterwards."
Naori's eyes locked on his ignoring his friendly tone before she asked, "Why? Why are you being so nice?"
He tilted his head in confusion before answering with an almost certainty, "Isn't it always right to help others? This is the leaf village, we're all family… and if a family member is sad shouldn't I lend a hand, a shoulder, or at the very least give them my condolences?"
Naori stepped closer and bent down on one knee before asking again, "We aren't close though."
He simply shook his head, "I'd help anyone… that's just my ninja way!"
Naori's eyes widened as his image overlapped with her overly cheery friend, Chiharu and she softly smiled and ruffled his hair before saying, "Alright, let's go eat…"
Ever since then, every now and then Naori would find Soutarou and spend a little bit of time with him and she often helped him with training albeit from the background. She even slipped in a few fire and wind style techniques into his parent's legacy knowing he wouldn't be able to tell the difference only because she wanted to help him just like he helped her in a worst moment.
~Back to Naori's Current POV~
'Soutarou!' Naori's sharingan unknowingly began spinning as she abandoned stealth for speed as she felt his chakra pulsing out even more sporadically.
As began rushing towards him she suddenly raised her guard to the maximum as she heard a ding sound boom in her mind jarring her a bit.
[Ding! The Kunoichi Improvement System has bound itself to host.]
…
~Tsunade POV~
Tsunade who had just returned from a mission the day before had gone drinking with her Sensei and Jiriaya and had returned home completely wasted as she woke up from her drunk stupor she suddenly felt a chill run down her spine throwing her alertness to the maximum. 'This amount of chakra…. it's so erratic… has the nine tails broken loose? No wait, this signature feels familiar… SOUTAROU?'
Tsunade immediately jumped out of the Senju Residence barefoot and rushed towards Soutarou's house at break neck speed.
'Hold on Souta I'm coming! Please be safe kiddo…'
~Tsunade's history with Soutarou~
About a year ago after Kushina's nightmare of an enrollment and near expulsion due to how many people she beat. Tsunade was called into her Sensei's office and told to keep an eye on a talented civilian student named Soutarou. After hearing about him from Kushina as well, Tsunade who lost all of her money gambling, decided she might as well go take her anger out on her little cousin's target civilian and gauge his attitude. After searching for him near his house, which she found because her teacher had given her his file, she ended up having to track him through his traces to an isolated little section of forest near the Uchiha Clan. Original she was going to blatantly show up, but apparently Kushina hadn't done him justice. This kid was seriously cute and his super serious expression while training triggered Tsunade's maternal instincts. So rather than bothering him she decided to watch his training, and to be blunt she was astonished. Tsunade thought to herself, 'this kid… he's hiding his strength… his file says he's talented… but what kid at 8 years old can use multiple C rank ninjutsu not to mention he's cleaning his jutsu's tracks up pretty well too… his chakra is being actively suppressed while he's casting jutsu… just how good is his chakra control? I shouldn't report this to sensei… he'll recruit him too early on or worse he'll be put into anbu… Now I get why Kushina is fond of him… he basically saved her from bullying on her first day, made her feel accepted, he looks good and is nice on the eyes, and he's talented… from what I saw on his file his cultural scores are fairly low… but, his will of fire score is pretty high because this kid seems to value camaraderie and honor alot… basically a goody two shoes… Sensei values kids like this… thats why he took in Jiriaya despite his other flaws… though I guess shamelessness and pervertedness are pluses in sensei's book… no point in thinking about those idiots… seeing him makes me want to train.. A kid like this can stay around Kushina.'
After that first day of watching him she ended up coming more than a few times as she realized watching him be so focused was somewhat therapeutic for her constantly drunk and miserable gambling luck brain which often forced her into a bad mood, hence the alcohol. Seeing a cute, but focused boy hard at work actually started motivating her to push her reforms on healing jutsu into a formalized Medical ninjutsu forward. She honestly found his progress to be quite satisfying, to her it was like watching a book you read getting turned into a show or a child growing up. For Tsunade it was really gratifying… though she refused to reveal herself because she didn't want to admit how long she'd been watching him for by this point.
~Back to Tsunade's Current POV~
'Dammit the chakra's spiking too much now every competent shinobi in the village has to be curious about what's going on.'
Just as she was almost about to get into Soutarou's house a ding reverbed in her mind throwing her slightly off balance for a moment…
[Ding! The Kunoichi Improvement System has bound itself to host.]
…
~Tsunade, Naori, Mikoto, and Kushina POV~
[Emergency quest.
Save Soutarou!
Take Sourarou into the Senju-Uzumaki Residence and convince Mito Uzumaki to protect Soutarou at all costs!
Requirements: Safely ensure Mito protects Soutarou and that the cover story is blamed also on the nine tails.This mission allows for outside help from any of the following: Tsunade Senju, Naori Uchiha, Mikoto Uchiha, Kushina Uzumaki, Mito Uzumaki
Reward: 3 Stat Up cards (allows the immediate improvement of one selected stat)]